Covet
Summary: Look only at me. Want only me. Be mine only. Otherwise, I'll break you. Dark!Kurama and Botan.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.
A/N: This chapter is going to be a lot longer than the previous ones; I wanted to make it into two chapters but didn't really want to drag out the story lol. It's a long read, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway.
Chapter 6
"So no one knows where he went?"
Kurama's face remained calm, even as he, Koenma and the rest of Reikai Tantei gathered at the table, currently analysing the sudden and mysterious disappearance of a certain SDF member. Yusuke's question and lack of doubt in the way he carried himself served to further confirm his conjecture: he had managed to successfully erase the delinquent's memories of what they had conversed a few days before in his room. Which was a good thing or else he would have been suspicious of Kurama first before anyone else, no matter how defiant he would have been to acknowledge that one of his closest friends had any part in the case. This meant that no one was going to get in his way. The fox felt his mouth twitch just a little, before he quickly squashed down the urge to give out a triumphant smirk as the information. It wouldn't do him good to let his more sadistic side slip out, or else everything up to this point would have been for nothing and he would have been immediately put on the spot.
"As of now, no, not really," Koenma answered Yusuke as he set his cup of tea on his plate, the action creating a clinking sound as the two glass-material utensils came into contact with one another. "No one has a clue when he disappeared or where he was last seen. He was supposed to come back from Ningenkai, but someone reported him missing when he didn't," the elaboration left his lips smoothly, despite the taut expression on his features. His lips sucked on the pacifier between his teeth as a frown marred his forehead. "I know this has nothing to do with you guys, but I was just wondering if you've seen him anywhere."
"Well, we would have told you a while ago if we did," Kuwabara blurted out, one arm hooked behind his chair as he languidly laid against the wooden furniture on his back. He seemed to consider something. "Do you want our help to look for him or something?"
Hazel eyes flitted to the carrot-top, appearing to hold a touch of hope before the emotion was briskly suppressed. "No," he responded tartly, jaw tight, "I mean, the reason we even have the Reikai Tantei in the first place is to solve cases in the human realm because we of reigen origin cannot directly get involved with mortals. Call it Reikai laws or whatever, but that's just how it is." He paused momentarily before expelling a deep sigh into the tense air. "It would be unfair to ask assistance from you guys. Reikai will take matters into our own hands; like I said, he doesn't have anything to do with you."
Silence hung in the room, as the air grew strained, before it was all but unceremoniously broken off by none other than Yusuke,
"I dunno, maybe he just needed to let off steam or something? He was pent up probably; I would assume his job doesn't let him have the time to get laid. I mean, he's only been missing for what, two days?" he casually offered in hopes to alleviate the tension around the five, but was only regarded with another unbearably long silence.
Kurama's visage was neutral as he took the time to pretend as if he was attempting to process everything, in spite of himself already aware of what had became of their missing person.
"Perhaps Shouji-san is on the hunt? I've heard rumors about some demons attacking humans in the area- it wouldn't be entirely off the mark to surmise that he probably had the misfortune to come across one of them," he supplied, the lie erupting from his throat as easy as ABC as he tried not to laugh at the situation. He was grateful for the added bonus of some small-fry demons wreaking havoc around the city as it helped him come up with a potential bluff. Not that he wouldn't be able to without the scenario, though.
Koenma pursed his lips. "It'd be good if that was true," he murmured then shook his head. "Maybe I'm just overthinking things. They usually take some time to return from hunting so perhaps your suggestion is corrrect. I'll wait this out for a week before I organize a search team to look for him. I'm used to him going on missions without permission or informing me anyway. Besides, the SDF were in charge of handling the demons in the first place."
"I thought you said cases in Ningenkai are usually given to us?" Kuwabara questioned, baffled. He had heard about the same rumors from Kurama beforehand but still found it odd that Koenma wanted them to have no business with it.
"In a one in a hundred probability that it's nothing serious, the SDF are usually tasked with smaller cases," the Reikai prince replied, "They're allowed special official consent from my dad to take part if conditions were met."
"Conditions?"
"...Well, you see, certain situations benefit Reikai a lot more when the SDF team are the ones getting the job done," Koenma spoke slowly, as if he was about to say something he shouldn't. His index and middle fingers traced lazy, distracted circles on the curvy surface of his cup. "I mean, my dad thinks that one of the demons responsible for the casualities in the human society has managed to get their hands on a.. er, valuable item from the vault."
There was a brief pause before Yusuke sounded out an irritated snort. "Let me take a wild guess, he doesn't want us finding out what it is?" he interrupted with an edge of ire in his normally boyish voice, pools of brown narrowed into angry slits.
Despite the years of service they provided, the "great" Enma Daioh still couldn't grant them even a moleculer level of his trust. Yusuke suspected it was most likely because of his Mazoku inheritance, and the fact that Hiei and Kurama were both demons only seemed to further give rise to more doubt.
Koenma's mouth parted to sound out a remark in defense of his father, before it was briskly clamped shut as the revelation hit him that he had no rebuttals against Yusuke's claims. He didn't exactly agree with his father's methods either but he was still his own flesh and blood so he couldn't help but want to defend him but was aware that Yusuke's words were indeed the cold, harsh truth. He didn't blame the Mazoku for hating his dad; he would be too if he were in their shoes- having risked their lives for the sake of all mankind countless times, only to receive nothing but backlash in return for their sacrifices.
Kuwabara took notice of the heavy tension in the air surrounding them and bit the inside of his cheek. As much as he did agree wholeheartedly with Yusuke, he really wanted to mediate the awkward situation.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, we'll inform you if we see Shouji in the area," Kuwabara offered in an attempt to change the subject.
"Personally, I don't think this is something to fuss about," the earlier bitter tone now gone, Yusuke seemed to let it go as he spoke and pointed a finger at Koenma in an accusing manner. "You're just worrying your little head over nothing."
Koenma's mouth curved to form a half-smile, but his lips gave out nothing in response. He didn't know why he even went all the way to Ningenkai for something that could have been a small matter- listening to himself, he realized he, in all likehood, was making it a bigger deal than what it probably was. Still, it didn't help to ease the nauseating feeling in his gut that roared at him that something was amiss- but without any proof he began to doubt himself. Maybe the immense amount of paperwork was taking its toll on him.
"Maybe Hiei can find out his location with his Jagan eye?" Yusuke suggested when he was reminded of the said fire demon, who seemed more or less bored the entire time of their discussion.
"Ha," Hiei scoffed, and the other four turned to him to see him shooting daggers at them through the reflection on the window, as he, per usual, unababashedly had claimed the sill as his seat the instant he had arrived. "As if I give a damn about a puny SDF pest. They can go to hell for all I care."
"Of course you would hate them when they're always on your tail," Yusuke chimed in with a dry tone in his voice as he directed a deadpan expression at the Jagan user.
Hiei visibly fumed, as if he was trying his damn hardest not to slit Yusuke's throat, but settled to return the head detective's stare with a heated glare. Despite being officially acquited from his crimes after providing aid in Yusuke's rescue during the event he had been abducted by Kido and his peers, some foolish SDF members were still unsatisfied with how easy he got off the hook and derived pleasure from picking fights with him simply for the heck of it. It wasn't particularly difficult for him to defeat them, of course, but he would prefer if they were out of his hair and let him live his putrid days in peace. How annoying. And now he was supposed to care when one of them went missing? Like hell. He was glad that at least he had one less Reikai official off his back.
"I apologize for their misbehavior," Koenma uttered with a hand in his chocolate-hued mane, "I reprimanded them but it seems they're all as stubborn as mules. Then again, that's not much of a surprise since only a few of them actually bother to listen to me. A majority of them usually abide more to my dad's orders." And my dad doesn't even bother to punish them, which makes things a lot worse. He mused but wisely chose to keepthe line of thought to himself.
Hiei said nothing but rolled his eyes, as if to silently reject Koenma's help, whilst Yusuke curiously quirked an eyebrow at the prince. "They don't respect you or something?"
"Not much, considering I'm basically on your side," Koenma muttered, voice too low that the others had to strain their ears to actually catch what he said.
And when he did, Yusuke grimaced. But he held back from spouting out another snide retort as he felt a deliberate nudge from his left side and spun his head to see Kuwabara regard him with a weird look. His scowl visibly deepened at his best friend's muted request to keep his comments to himself.
"Speaking of," Yusuke started after grumbling a few strings of curses under his breath, "isn't Shouji supposed to be Botan's date to my wedding? What if he doesn't come back by the time the ceremony is held?"
"Er," Koenma sputtered, having forgotten about the little detail until it was brought up. He paused then turned his eyes to Kurama. "What about you, Kurama? Do you already have a date?"
There was a hairline rupture in Kurama's usual poker face at the abrupt inquiry as his peridot irises grew slightly broad. The gears in his head only took a mere milisecond to click as he put two and two and realized where the conversation was headed to. Still, he couldn't help the surprise that flood his system. He had known that the topic was going to come up sooner or later and was even planning to offer himself as a subtitute, but not once did he reckon the prince would propose it first. Nonetheless, things really were working in his favor.
He fought back a victorious smirk as he answered, "No, I don't have one," then he paused for effect, letting the smallest hint of smile to graze his lips, "but if Botan would allow me, I would gladly take her to the wedding. I mean, it'd be easier for me because she is a friend of mine, after all." His voice remained impartial as the words left him; he didn't want to appear to eager after all, despite the darker side of him already envisioning countless of different ways he could take the ferry girl. He quelled a delicious shudder as he went on, "I don't exactly know who to bring either, anyway."
A pair of crimson darted towards him at that moment, the slightly dubious look in said irises not lost on him but was promptly ignored regardless. He opted to stare down at his cup of tea, not even a fracture was evident in his composure as he calmly stirred the liquid with a spoon before he placed it aside and wrapped his fingers around the cup to permit himself a graceful sip. He granted the sweet flavor a chance to overwhelm his taste buds, the warmth filling his mouth before flowing down his throat as he kept his cool under Hiei's unwavering gaze.
In hindsight, it wasn't odd for the fire demon to presume that he had a hand in Shouji's disappearance - it would have been weirder if he wasn't even the tiniest bit doubtful of his innocence, being that Kurama was vividly aware of the fact that Hiei was the only one who knew of his affections for Botan, after all. Well - he inwardly smirked - it wouldn't be fun if things were to go his way too smoothly anyhow, so he welcomed his friend's wariness all the same.
"Great," Koenma heaved a sigh of relief, "it's reassuring to know that at least you're available, which is kind of weird considering how many women would willingly throw themselves at your feet, but it helps to make me feel less bad for Botan. I mean, we're only two days away from the ceremony, so I got worried that she wouldn't be able to find another guy in time." A laugh rumbled through his chest. "She would have cried at the thought of not being able to attend your and Keiko's wedding so that's a weight off my chest. The reason I suggested Shouji to her in the first place was because I was aware of his feelings for her, but I'm afraid he lost that chance to win her heart if he actually did go on a mindless hunt for a demon without even telling anyone."
"Didn't take you for quite the matchmaker," Yusuke teased, a grin curling at the corners of his lips as Koenma flushed a slight pink, a bit embarrassed and caught off guard by the comment.
The prince cleared his throat as he tried to not let the shame get the better of him, lest he'd become victim to Yusuke's mischief. He averted his gaze to Kurama once again, mentally glad that Yusuke frowned and dropped the subject when he didn't take the bait. "I owe you one. You really are a lifesaver, you know?"
"But what if Shouji does return? Wouldn't he be pissed off?" Kuwabara butted in, and Kurama fought the urge to snarl at him. Must he even attempt to debate on the subject?
"Well, in that case, I'll apologize to him myself," Koenma snorted, uncaringly throwing his red scarf over his shoulder, "It's his fault for running off at the wrong timing in the first place," he finished, unaware of the faint smile that was plastered on Kurama's visage.
Yes, lady luck really was on his side, the fox concluded, as things, once again, went according to his plans.
Despite how unchallenging the course of events had been, Kurama had an inkling of suspicion that this was about to take place sooner or later. It was inevitable to say the least, but he didn't really mind.
Hiei stood in front of him, hands in the safety of his pockets as his crimson orbs scrutinized Kurama over and over, having followed the former thief into the woods after their meeting with Koenma.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Hiei?" Kurama eventually broke the tense, seemingly interminable silence with a casual greeting. His voice light and devoided of the initial malice Hiei had expected but it only made the fire demon's skin crawl even more as his rich timbre cut through him like knife slicing through thick skin and brought on a sudden wave of fear Hiei wished didn't exist but easily subdued nevertheless.
"I'll cut to the chase, you damn fox," Hiei hissed, apparently annoyed at how serene the redhead was being, "It was you, wasn't it?"
One eyebrow, graceful and delicate, raised at him in feigned bewilderment. "Whatever are you implying? I don't suppose I understand."
Hiei appeared to bellow. "Don't play dumb, Kurama. You think I don't know what you're trying to do? Considering your obvious fondness for the ferry girl, only a fool wouldn't realize. I knew you were at least partially responsible for everything the moment Yusuke said that the puny SDF bug was her date."
He narrowed his eyes dangerously at the the redhead, who, infuriatingly enough, merely regarded him with a mild grin, as if he found the whole confrontation hilarious. It irked Hiei beyond comprehension that it felt like he was not taken seriously at all- even before he showed himself, Kurama kept his composure, and it was almost as if Hiei had been acting according to what he wanted. From the point where he followed him, to up until now; it felt as if the fox had been waiting for the interaction, probably even looked forward to it- but what was more irritating, seemed unbothered by it as if it wasn't even worth deeming as a hindrance. As if he wasn't a force to be reckoned with.
True to his assumptions, Kurama indeed did not feel even the slightest bit threatened by the Jagan user. It was partly due to the fact he was all too accustomed with dealing with Hiei to actually be cowering under his glare, but mostly because of the fact he had other methods to keep the shorter demon in check.
There was a moment of silence as Kurama seemed to pause, before a menacing smirk slowly crept its way to his mouth, pools of emeralds seeming to glint in the rose-colored hue surrounding them as he responded, almost in a roundabout manner,
"My, you surely didn't strike me as someone who would care for an insignificant creature like him, provided your intense hatred for all of the SDF members." The quirk on his lips appeared to broaden as he watched the shock cross over Hiei's features. "I figured that the particular loathing the both of us harbor for them is one of the few things we share in common. What a shame."
Hiei's eyes grew wide as saucers at the redhead's immediate admittance, as subtle as it might have been. However, the surprise died down as rapidly as it came, as he caught on to the tinge of mocking look that seemed to lie dormant under Kurama's neutral facade. A deep growl sounded from the back of his throat, his hands clenching into fists in the recesses of his pockets.
"I don't give a fucking damn about him," he hollered at Kurama. And it was true, he didn't. If anything, he liked knowing that he had one less nuisance to concern himself over. After all, he was not as noble as Yusuke or Kuwabara to allow himself to care over someone he didn't know. Hell, he rarely even gave two shits about anything or anyone, for that matter.
But something about the way Kurama looked just sent a shiver down his spine. It felt as if, if he didn't contain the monster before him as soon as possible, all hell would break loose.
Kurama tilted his head at him, as if probing him to continue. "But?"
Hiei gritted his teeth, almost snapping as he hissed, "What do you intend to do? Are you going to kill everyone?"
To his utter astonishment- and horror, the thief threw his head back and permitted a low chuckle to erupt from his throat. A few pain-staking moments of the redhead's incessant snickering resonated within the woods before it eventually ceased to exist, fading into oblivion as Kurama directed his attention once more to the fire demon.
"Goodness, Hiei, how brutal." His eyes flashed a dangerous shade of gold before they reverted to their original colour, "It pains me that you would assume I would do something so horrendous." He took a few steps forward towards the other male, who promptly backed away with each step. "Contrary to your suspicions, even I am not twisted enough to go on a murdering spree without any coherent reason. Unless they plan on becoming an obstacle for me, then I can assure you that I have no intentions to land a finger on anyone who doesn't involve themselves with me." The sounds of his calm, malice-dripping footsteps thudding against the ground came into an abrupt halt as Hiei's back collided against the tree, and the treacherous grin touching his lips seemed to enlargen just a little. "More dead bodies just leaves more tracks, after all, and I can't afford to have that, can I?"
Hiei felt an unnerving sense of nauseating trepidation overtake his senses, his instinct shouting at him to flee and escape but was immediately silenced by his stronger pride as he kept his stance, glaring up at Kurama.
"Then what are you trying to accomplish from all of this? Are you going to off everyone that comes near her?" His voice was composed, his features bland as he spoke, despite the cold layer of sweat beginning to bead his forehead.
"Well, I do want her to like me, so I suppose I should take my time grooming our soon to be budding relationship," Kurama seemed to taunt at him. "Do you not agree?"
The sarcasm in Kurama's rich timbre caused another blaze of fury to build deep within Hiei's gut. He wanted to turn the tables around on the fox so bad, but had a suspicion that things wouldn't end on a good note for him if he even tried to make a move.
"You didn't answer my fucking question," Hiei opted to snarl instead.
One of Kurama's eyebrows disappeared into his bangs as it rose upwards in an inquisitive manner, before it lowered once more to its original place as the smirk dissipated from his lips, now tugged down into a thin, rigid line.
"How stubborn," He expelled a deep, nearly exasperated sigh into the air, mentally noting the motion of the sun setting before he continued, voice dreary, "though I suspected you would persist. However, I don't believe I have any obligations to justify any of your inquiries, now do I?" He paused, the smirk now returning, but this time it was cold, almost like it was sticking needles into Hiei's flesh. "Besides, you already know the answer to that, don't you?"
The fire demon couldn't help but swallow a lump, which had managed to build up in his throat without him noticing. Then his mouth opened to form out the words in a quiet murmur,
"You're crazy."
Kurama wanted to laugh at that, but settled for replacing the smirk on his visage with an eery grin which spread from ear to ear, baring one sharp fang at his raven-haired companion. "How cruel. You have hurt my feelings," he feigned, tone purposely dripping with mockery in order to provoke Hiei.
Hiei neary bit on the bait but quickly schooled his features. "Yusuke and Kuwabara will not stay put if they find out about this," he stated firmly, his blood-red eyes narrowing once again.
His sentence apparently managed to have gotten under Kurama's skin, Hiei noticed, as the redhead's face grew taut, jaw becoming tight as the smirk on his countenance fell once more.
The fox's voice was low, almost dangerously low, as he uttered, deliberately drawling out the words, as if to emphasize his point, "You would do well to keep your mouth shut, Hiei. You wouldn't want anything to happen to them, now would you?"
Hiei broadened his orbs in utter disbelief, as a shock, one that was more powerful than the previous ones, overflooded his system. "I thought between the two of us, you, of all people, would care about the detective and ugly oaf," he muttered, tone bordered on perplexed. Hiei would rather die before he would willingly admit it, but Yusuke and Kuwabara were one of the only humans he actually wanted to be kept alive. As much as he discreetly cared for them though, Hiei knew that Kurama was easily more attached to the two than he was. He can't be serious, right?
Hiei refused to believe it- didn't even want to accept it as a possibility- but Kurama's answer was instant, barred of any hesitation as if he didn't even have to think twice.
"And believe it or not, they are important to me," The ex-thief's features softened ever so slightly, but the malice in his now dark forest green orbs was still as clear as crystal, "which is exactly why I feel it would be wise for you to keep this to yourself. I have no qualms hurting them if you get them involved. And really, Hiei," A smile began to spread on his lips, icy to the eyes and holding a sinister edge as he went on, "you're the closest thing to a best friend to me." He extended a hand out to gently set it on the fire demon's right shoulder, his touch pliant but threatening all at once and drew out a visible flinch from the normally unperturbed Hiei. "It wouldn't do either of us any good for me to partake in a bloody battle with you."
Hiei knew better, but being his ever arrogant self, couldn't allow himself to give in without putting up another fight. "And what if I say no?" he challenged, then the air around them instantaneously grew cold and tense.
Kurama removed his hand from Hiei's shoulder, flickers of molten gold coming through as he glowered down at the Jagan master. Another silence passed between the two of them, before the corners of Kurama's mouth curved upwards once again to form another smirk.
"...Yukina-chan is pretty, isn't she?" he whispered, but knew Hiei would catch it regardless.
The subtle threat didn't fly over Hiei's head, as a raw, uninhibited wrath overwhelmed his very being. The next words that left his lips came from deep within his gut that it made him feel as if everything he had ever uttered out prior to this moment was a bluff.
"I'll kill you if you touch her!" he roared angrily. Best friend be damned, Hiei threw all self-control out the window as he unsheathed his sword from its confinements, and in a swift motion, maneuvered it to slice through Kurama's head, but his attacks bore no fruit as the fox simply dodged his attempted assault, briskly taking a step back.
The redhead pursed his lips in thought, pondering over the best way to handle the current predicament as Hiei lunged forward and showered him with attempted blows, all of which he gracefully managed to avoid just in the nick of time.
He really didn't feel like fighting Hiei- he didn't feel like he was in the mood and furthermore, though Kurama was by no means weak, Hiei had him beaten in terms of agility, which meant fighting him would be all too exhausting. The idea of a bloody battle with Hiei was tempting without a doubt, but really, he didn't think he was backed into a corner enough to engage himself in a meaningless fight. It garnered him no benefit whatsoever. Of course, there was the probability that he could guarantee Hiei's silence if he were to win, but he found himself uninterested to explore such a risk. In the worst case scenario, he could get too excited after all the provocations he received from his friend, and could end up killing him. That was the worst outcome possible, and would soon land him in hot water as Yusuke and Kuwabara would surely never forgive him that easily, even if the latter liked to poke fun at Hiei. Other than that, he could also wind up being held responsible for the recent disappearance of Shouji, and that would mean his actions up until now would have been pointless. And besides, despite everything that had occurred between them, Kurama still considered him a valuable ally, and didn't really Hiei to push to him to the point where he would be forced to harm him.
After another moment of musing to himself, Kurama summoned his plants to restrain the fire demon after he barely avoided Hiei's attempt at stabbing through his abdomen. He heaved a heavy sigh as the vines slithered from around and underneath Hiei's feet, seizing a tight grip around his ankles before hoisting him up in the air in an upside down position.
"You motherfucker-" Hiei shouted, angry yet caught off guard, but was immediately rendered speechless as more vines climbed up his arms, forcing his fingers open to release his sword, which fell to the ground in a loud, echoing clanging sound. His face reddened but he wasn't entirely sure if it was because of the pure, unadulterated fury burning in his stomach, or the blood rushing to his head, or both.
"Despite your blatant refusal to tell her the truth about your real identity, you and I both know that you would go to any lengths possible to protect her from any harm that comes her way," Kurama spoke, almost all too knowingly, a chilling smile reaching his lips. "It would be a shame to find such a cute, fragile creature on the verge of death."
Hiei's whole form trembled in uncontrollable ire as he repeated, growling out the words, "I swear I'll fucking kill you, Kurama."
"That would be a waste of time," the fox uncharacteristically snorted at him. "What do you hope to gain from killing me, Hiei? This is pointless. I'm not trying to make an enemy out of you."
Hiei could have sworn the snarl that erupted from him was the most aggressive sound to reverberate in his ears, surprising even himself at the sheer intensity behind the noise. "You did the moment you threatened to hurt my sister!"
"Please calm yourself," Kurama sighed.
But the fire demon would have none of that, and instead, remained livid. "Go die in a ditch, Kurama."
The air around them seemed to shift and Hiei felt as if an invisible set of hands began to wrap around his neck, threatening to choke the oxygen out of him as Kurama's face darkened in a way that sent a cold shiver down to the base of his spine.
"Well, that's not a very nice way to put it, isn't it?" Kurama let out a low, guttural burst of laughter, but it sounded dreadful as it reached Hiei's ultra-sensitive hearing. The redhead's features then proceeded to contort into one so deadly that the fire demon couldn't suppress a shudder. "I would be careful with my choice of words, if I were you."
Hiei wanted to bellow, wanted to scoff at him and tell him he had just purchased a ticket straight to hell, but couldn't even muster up the courage to put up the brave charade. An intense, overwhelming rush of terror that gripped at his sides- not even Sensui or Toguro could ever elicit such a deep fear within him, and he despised it for all that he was worth. This asshole had just threatened to hurt his sister, for god's sake, and yet he was too scared to even pretend to act tough.
Hiei hated how small his voice sounded as he mumbled, "What do you want from me?" Low, barely above a hushed whisper, but he knew Kurama heard it.
"I do not want anything from you," Kurama started, slowly dropping Hiei to the ground after having noticed the Jagan master's lack of struggle. He didn't deem Hiei harmless and kept his vines around him, only to finally fully release his friend once he felt Hiei's once defiant form slouch down in defeat.
"My only wish is for you to not tell anyone else, so that life could go on being normal for all us. While it is true that I will get rid of anyone that comes between Botan and I, it is in my best interest to keep a low profile and not stand out. After all, I wouldn't want to hurt any of my dearest friends." He momentarily paused to gauge out Hiei's reactions, but the raven-haired demon remained unresponsive. "Do you understand how foolish all of this is? My goal is to have Botan, nothing more and nothing less. I do not need anything else. It is not my aim to cause harm to you or Yukina-chan. Do you think I want to hurt her? Just keep this between you and I, and nothing will happen. Simple as that," Kurama couldn't resist the urge to growl.
Why did this have to be so complicated? All he did was get rid of Shouji, who didn't even mean anything to Hiei in the first place. He didn't care about anyone else- he harbored no intentions to torment others, especially the people closest to him. If Hiei just knew better than to butt into his business, then no more chaos would occur and none of this tomfoolery would have happened. Though he knew he was partially to blame for bringing Yukina up in the first place, it was Hiei that kept pushing his buttons, adamantly interrogating him and trying to stick his nose into somewhere it didn't belong.
Hiei didn't glare, he just stared. It took him a while to process over things and realized that the situation would have gone better if he had just kept to himself, like always. He knew better; of course he did- after all he was no idiot- but he couldn't stop himself. Something told him that he had to do something to stop Kurama, lest his friend sink further into insanity. But perhaps he should have steered clear from the whole thing from the very beginning- he didn't want to see this side of Kurama, didn't want to fear the monster in front of him. He felt as if he had gotten himself entangled in a mess that he couldn't really get out of.
"...Why don't you just kill me?" Hiei asked, against his own will, once the terrifying revelation dawned on him that such a monster had existed since the very beginning within Kurama, lying dormant underneath. Reality crushed him like a ton of bricks, like a hard slap across his face. "If you wanted guaranteed secrecy in order to prevent anyone from foiling your plans, that would have been the best way."
Kurama, on the other hand, was slowly getting tired with this. "I told you, I don't intend to mindlessly massacre all of my friends. You can think of me however you want, but I do care about all of you. If you're smart enough, you'd know not to inform anyone of this. You can try to kill me as many times as you want, but you can't expect me to accept it, roll over and die." His words were cold, harsh, and unlike him. Which made Hiei wonder if he ever knew who Kurama really was or if it had only been an image he had projected into his brain. He didn't know. He didn't want to know.
But if there was one thing he was aware of, one thing that he could trust Kurama would not bluff about, it was this:
"You promise you'll keep your hands off my sister if I leave you alone?"
Kurama's postured seemed to relax, albeit only a little. "Not just to her, but to you as well. No one needs to know, no one needs to get hurt, except for that fool, Shouji," he spoke calmly, then snarled at the name that escaped his lips, feeling as if bile would come up his throat just from the mere mention of him rolling off his own tongue.
And Botan, Hiei thought bitterly but cleverly chose not to voice it out loud. He didn't have a clue what Kurama was planning to do to her, and for the first time ever, actually felt sorry for the ferry girl for once. Though Hiei deemed her as annoying and too loud for her own damn good, Hiei would admit that a part of him wouldn't mind her companionship once a while. He didn't really want anything to happen to her, and yet...Yukina's more important, he concluded.
"If you keep your end of the bargain," Hiei started but then bit the inside of his cheek, already feeling sick about what he was about to say, "I won't tell anyone."
The smile that spread on Kurama's face was all too gleeful for Hiei's taste.
"I knew you'd make the right choice."
Another A/N: Okayy lol. Sorry for the long read. There aren't any KB interactions for the past three chapters, but I promise there will be tons of them in the next. And certainly in the future as well. I'm sorry if this makes you feel disgusted lmao, but the story is only going to get a lot more messed up as the plot progresses, so I suggest you, my dear readers, to be prepared. This was intended to be a darkfic after all. Don't say I didn't warn you!
